Annual Public Notice of Special Education & Early Intervention Services

Annual Public Notice of Special Education & Early Intervention

Services and Programs

It is the responsibility of the
Pennsylvania Department of Education to ensure that all children with
disabilities residing in the Commonwealth, regardless of the severity of their
disability, and who are in need of special education and related services, are
identified, located, and evaluated. This responsibility is required by a
federal law called the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

The
IDEA requires each state educational agency to publish a notice to parents in
newspapers or other media before any major identification location or
evaluation activity. The IDEA requires this notice to contain certain
information. Pennsylvania law requires each school district to fulfill this
notice requirement by providing an annual public notice.

The
school district is required by the IDEA to provide a free appropriate public
education to children with disabilities who need special education and related
services. Pennsylvania has adopted state
laws which conform with the IDEA and which school districts must follow. In Pennsylvania a school age child with
disabilities who needs special education and related services is identified as
a child with a disability. Students are
exceptional if they need specially designed instruction and have one or more of
the following physical or mental disabilities:

Autism/Pervasive Development Disorder

Orthopedic Impairment

Deaf-Blindness

Other Health Impairment

Deafness

Specific Learning Disability

Emotional Disturbance

Speech or Language Impairment

Hearing Impairment

Traumatic Brain Injury

Intellectual Disabilities

Visual Impairment Including Blindness

Multiple Disabilities

In Pennsylvania, students also
qualify as exceptional if they require specially designed instruction and are
determined to be mentally gifted. Also,
school districts are required to conduct child find activities for children who
may be eligible for gifted services via 22 PA Code Chapter 16. For additional information regarding gifted
services, the parent may refer to 22 PA Code Chapter 16. If a student is both gifted and eligible for
Special Education, the procedures in IDEA and Chapter 14 shall take precedence.

Early Intervention

IDEA
requires the provisions of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to
children with disabilities between 3 years of age and the school district’s age
of beginners. In Pennsylvania, a child
between 3 years of age and the school district’s age of beginners who has a
developmental delay or one or more of the physical or mental disabilities
listed above is identified as a child with a disability. Developmental delay is defined as a child who
is less than the age of beginners and at least three years of age and is
considered to have a developmental delay when one of the following exists: (i)
the child’s score, on a developmental assessment device, an assessment instrument
which yields a score in months, indicates that the child is delayed by 25% of
the child’s chronological age in one or more developmental areas, or (ii) the
child is delayed in one or more of the developmental area, as documented by
test performance of 1.5 standard deviations below the mean on standardized
tests. Developmental areas include
cognitive, communicative, physical, social/emotional and self-help. For additional information you may contact
the Early Intervention Program Supervisor at Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV,
453 Maple Street, Grove City, PA 16127
or (724) 458-6700.

These
children are afforded the rights of school age exceptional children, including
screening, evaluation, individualized education program planning, and
provisions of appropriate programs and services. The Pennsylvania Department of Education is
responsible for providing programs and services to these children under Act 212
of 1990, the Early Intervention Services System Act.

Screening

Each
school district must establish and implement procedures to locate, identify,
and evaluate students suspected of being exceptional. These procedures include screening activities,
which include but are not limited to: review of group-based data (cumulative
record, enrollment records, health records, and report cards); hearing
screening (at a minimum of kindergarten, special ungraded class, first, second,
third, seventh, and eleventh grades); vision screening (every grade level);
motor screening; and speech and language screening.

In
schools which have an Instructional Support Team (IST) or child study team or Multi-Tiered
System of Support (MTSS), the above screening activities may be a consideration
used by these teams as another level of screening. Parents and members of the
professional staff of the student’s school have the right to request screening
by the IST or child study team.

Except
as indicated above or otherwise announced publicly, screening activities take
place in an ongoing fashion throughout the school year. Screening is conducted in the student’s home
school unless other arrangements are necessary. Telephone numbers and addresses can be found
at the end of this notice for more information.

Evaluation

When
screening indicates that a student may be exceptional, the school district will
seek parental consent to conduct an evaluation. “Evaluation” means procedures used to
determine whether a child has a disability and the nature and extent of the
special education and related services that meet the child’s needs. The term means procedures used selectively
with an individual child and does not mean basic tests administered to or
procedures used with all children.

In
Pennsylvania, this evaluation is called a multidisciplinary evaluation (MDE).
It is conducted by a multidisciplinary team (MDT), which must include a school
psychologist, a teacher and the parents. The MDE process must be conducted in
accordance with specific timelines and use procedural safeguard procedures. For example, tests and procedures used as part
of the multidisciplinary evaluation may not be racially and culturally biased.

The
MDE process results in a written evaluation report called an (ER). This report makes recommendations about a
student’s eligibility for special education based on the presence of a
disability and the need for specially designed instruction. The evaluation report also makes
recommendations for educational programming regardless of whether or not the
team recommends that the student is exceptional. Once parental consent for an evaluation is
obtained, the school district has timelines and procedures specified by law, which
it must follow.

Parents
who think their child is a child with a disability may request, at any time
that the school district conduct a multidisciplinary evaluation. This request should be made in writing to the
Coordinator of Special Education Office. If a parent makes an oral request for a
multidisciplinary evaluation the school district shall provide the parent with
a form for written permission. Instructional Support (IS) activities or MTSS do
not serve as a bar to the right of a parent to request, at any time, including
prior to or during the provision of instructional support activities, a
multidisciplinary evaluation. For
information about procedures applicable to your child, contact the school which
your child attends. Telephone numbers
and addresses can be found at the end of this notice. Parents of preschool age children three
through five may request an evaluation in writing by addressing a letter to the
Early Intervention Program Supervisor at Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV, 453
Maple Street, Grove City, PA 16127 or by
contacting the Preschool Connection at 1-800-345-0033.

Parents
also have the right to obtain an independent educational evaluation. The school district must provide to parents,
on request, information about where an independent educational evaluation may
be obtained.

Consent

School
entities cannot proceed with an evaluation, or with the initial provision of
special education and related services, without the written consent of the
parents. For additional information
related to consent, please refer to the Procedural Safeguards Notice which can
be found at the PaTTAN website at www.pattan.net. Once written parental consent is obtained,
the school district, intermediate unit or charter school will proceed with the
evaluation process. If the parent
disagrees with the evaluation, the parent can request an independent education
evaluation at public expense.

Program Development

Once
the evaluation process is completed, a team of qualified professionals and the
parents determine whether the child is eligible. If the child is eligible, the individualized
education program (IEP) team meets, develops the program, and determines the
educational placement. Once the IEP team
develops the program, and determines the educational placement, school district
staff, intermediate unit staff, or charter school staff will issue a notice of
recommended educational placement/prior written notice. Your written consent is required before
initial services can be provided. The
parent has the right to revoke consent after initial placement.

Educational Placement

A single
test or procedure may not be the sole factor in determining that a child is
exceptional. The IEP team must include a
district representative, the student’s teacher, special education teacher and the
parents. If the student is determined to
be exceptional an IEP will be developed.

An
IEP describes a student’s current educational levels, goals, and objectives,
and the individual programs and services, which the student will receive. IEP’s are reviewed on an annual basis. The IEP team will make decisions about the
type of services, the level of intervention and the location of intervention.

Placement
must be made in the least restrictive environment in which the student’s needs
can be met with special education and related services. All students with disabilities must be
educated to the maximum extent appropriate with children who are not disabled.

Services for Protected
Handicapped Students

Students
who are not eligible to receive special education programs and services may qualify
as protected handicapped students and therefore be protected by other federal
and state laws intended to prevent discrimination. The school district must
ensure that protected handicapped students have equal opportunity to participate
in the school program and extracurricular activities to the maximum extend
appropriate for the individual student.

In
compliance with state and federal law, the school district will provide to each
protected handicapped student without discrimination or cost to the student or
family, those related aides, services, or accommodations which are needed to
provide equal opportunity to participate in and obtain the benefits of the
school program and extracurricular activities to the maximum extent appropriate
to the student’s abilities. In order to qualify as a protected handicapped
student the child must be of school age with a physical or mental disability,
which substantially limits or prohibits participation in or access to an aspect
of the school program.

These
services and protections for protected handicapped students are distinct from
those applicable to all eligible or exceptional students enrolled (or seeking
enrollment) in special education programs.

The
school district or parent may initiate an evaluation of a student under the
laws, which protect handicapped students. Parents who wish to have a child evaluated
should contact the building principal or the Office of Special Education.

Confidentiality

Each
school district protects the confidentiality of personally identifiable
information regarding its exceptional and protected handicapped students in
accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA)
and other applicable federal and state laws.

The
Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords parents and students
over 18 years of age (“eligible students”) certain rights with respect to the
student’s education records. The age of
majority in Pennsylvania is 21. These
rights are:

1.)The right to inspect
and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the day the school
receives request for access.

Parents
or eligible students should submit to the school principal (or appropriate
school official) a written request that identifies the record(s) they wish to
inspect. The principal will make
arrangements for access and notify the parent or eligible student of the time
and place where the records may be inspected.

2.)The right to request
the amendment of student’s education records that the parent or eligible
student believes are inaccurate or misleading.

Parents
or eligible students may ask the school to amend a record that they believe is
inaccurate. They should write the school
principal (or appropriate school official) and clearly identify the part of the
record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate. If the school
decides not to amend the record as requested by the parent or eligible student,
the school will notify the parent or eligible student of the decision and
advise them of their right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing
procedures will be provided to the parent or eligible student when notified of
the right to a hearing.

3.)The right to consent
to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the
student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes
disclosure without consent.

One
exception, which permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to school
officials with legitimate education interests. A school official is a person employed by the
district as an administrator, supervisor, instructor, or support staff member
(including health or medical staff and law enforcement unit personnel); a
person serving on the school board; a person or company with whom the school
has contracted to perform a special task (such as an attorney, auditor, medical
consultant, or therapist);or a parent or student serving on an official
committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another
school official in performing his or her task.

A
school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to
review an educational record in order to fulfill his or her professional
responsibility.

4.)The right to file a
complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failure by
the school district to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the Office that
administers FERPA is:

Family Policy Compliance Office

U.S. Department of Education

400 Maryland Avenue, S.W.

Washington, DC 20202-4605

The
school district maintains its education records in compliance with the
guidelines for the collection, maintenance and dissemination of pupil records. Category “A” data which includes the minimal
personal data necessary for operation of the school district will be maintained
for a minimum time period of a 100 years. Category “B” data which includes
verified information of clear importance, but not absolutely necessary to the
school, over time, in helping the child or in protecting others will be
maintained until the child leaves school. Category “C” data which includes
potentially useful information, but not yet verified or clearly needed beyond
the immediate present, will be reviewed at least once a year and destroyed as
soon as its usefulness has ended.

In
addition, the school district may release “directory information” without
parental consent unless a prior written objection to the release of such
information is provided to the school district by the parent(s). “Directory
information” includes the following: student’s name, address, telephone
listing, date and place of birth, photographs, videotapes, major fields of
study, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and
height of members of athletic teams, duties of attendance, honors and awards
received. If you object to the disclosure of this information, you must submit
a written letter of objection to the school district. Written objections for students 3-5 years old
should be mailed to Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV at 453 Maple Street, Grove
City, PA 16127.

In
accordance with 34 CFR § 300.624, please be advised of the following
retention/destruction schedule for the Pennsylvania Alternate System of
Assessment (PASA), Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA), and
Keystone Exam related materials:

PSSA,
Keystone Exam, and PASA test booklets will be destroyed one year after
student reports are delivered for the administration associated with the
test booklets.

PSSA
and Keystone Exam answer booklets and PASA media recordings will be
destroyed three years after completion of the assessment.

Procedural Safeguards

Procedural
safeguards protect the rights of parents and students. These safeguards include the following:

Parent’s consent is always
required prior to:

Conducting
an initial (for the first time) evaluation or a reevaluation,

Initially
placing a child with a disability in a special education program,

The school
district must notify parents in writing whenever it wants to begin, change, or
discontinue special education and related services. Along with this
notification, the school district will provide the parents with a
comprehensive, written description of their rights.

Parents who
disagree with such actions proposed or refused by the school district have the
right to request a hearing by an impartial third party using a procedure called
due process.

Before a
due process hearing will take place, the district must convene a preliminary
meeting with the parent and the relevant member(s) of the IEP team in an
attempt to resolve issues without the need for a due process hearing.

Pennsylvania
has also made mediation services available throughout the Commonwealth at
Commonwealth expense. Mediation services
help parents and agencies involved in a dispute over special education to
attempt to reach a mutually agreeably settlement with the assistance of an impartial
mediator. Mediation is completely
voluntary. Mediation does not deny or
delay a party’s right to a due process hearing.

School
districts also have the right to initiate due process in certain
situations. During a due process procedure,
a student must remain in the last agreed upon educational placement (a status
called pendency). Due process procedures
are governed by timelines and procedures in Pennsylvania law. Throughout due process, an attorney may
represent parents.

Due process
hearings are oral personal hearings and are open to the public, unless the
parents request a closed hearing. The
decision of the hearing officer shall include finding of fact, a discussion,
and conclusions of law. The decision of
the hearing officer may be appealed to the appropriate court.

Each school
district must make available, upon request, printed information regarding
special education programs and services and parent due process rights. This printed information is available from
each building principal and/or the Office of Special Education.

Mode of Communication

The content
of this notice has been written in straight forward, simple language. If a
person does not understand any of this notice, he or she should contact the
school district or IU and request an explanation.

The school
district or IU will arrange for an interpreter for a parent with limited
English proficiency. If a parent is deaf or blind or has no written language,
the school district or IU will arrange for communication of this notice in the
mode normally used by the parent (e.g. sign language, Braille, or oral
communication).

For further
information contact:

West Middlesex Area School
District

Scott McCaskey

3591 Sharon Road

West Middlesex, PA 16159

724-634-3030

The school
district, intermediate unit or charter school will not discriminate in its
educational programs, activities, or employment practices, based on race,
color, national origin, sex, disability, age, religion, ancestry, or any other
legally protected classification. Announcements of this policy are in
accordance with the state and federal laws, including Title VI of the Civil
Rights Act of 1966. Title IX of the
Education Amendments of 1972, Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 and the Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990. For information regarding
grievance procedures, services, activities, programs and facilities that are
accessible to and usable by handicapped persons or, for inquiries regarding
compliance with the above nondiscriminatory policies, please contact the
Superintendent of Schools at your local school district, or Midwestern
Intermediate Unit IV, 453 Maple Street, Grove City, PA 16127 (724-458-6700).

The school
district will make reasonable accommodations to its programs and services to
assure access to all persons. If, because of a disability, you require an
accommodation please contact the Superintendent of Schools, Americans with
Disabilities Act Coordinator at the school district in which you reside listed
above or the Director of Special Education at Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV
at (724) 458-6700.